Technology

Tom Lee, MD, Founder and CEO, One Medical Group, says there are a wide variety of technologies that can enhance patient-centered care.

Health services are now expected to deliver quality care with a shrinking budget. The digital 'channel shift' could be the answer, but attitudes to technology in the sector must change.

Dr Farzard Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will be leaving his post after 2 years of service.

The announcement Aug. 6 that Farzad Mostashari, MD, would be stepping down from his job as national coordinator for health information technology this fall led much praise about his passion for the work, and his many achievements.

This fall, Dr Farzad Mostashari will step down as head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology after two years in the position.

A provision of the Affordable Care Act went into effect on August 1st that will require physicians and medical companies to disclose their financial relationships.

What health information technology professionals really need is training in informatics, said William Hersh, MD, chair of Oregon Health & Science University's Department of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology.

Increasing enrollment in health insurance is one of the primary goals of the health reform law. The CMS took a major step to achieve that this week by signing agreements with five Web-based insurance broker firms to help enroll Americans in the insurance exchanges in the 35 states where the federal government will run them.

The market for health care information technology is showing enormous growth potential, and plenty of Maryland businesses are crowding in.

According to several healthcare CIOs giving testimony yesterday in the District of Columbia, hospitals are pressed for both time and money when it comes to implementing the necessary changes to their EHR systems and clinical workflows.

The presence of inexpensive centers and new data collection tools show promise in cutting costs as providers take a new path in care delivery, says Eric Topol, MD, Director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute, Chief Academic Officer at Scripps Health, Cardiologist, and Professor of Genomics at The Scripps Research Institute.

As defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), meaningful use is the implementation and adoption of EHR systems to increase the delivery of high-quality care while ensuring patient safety. However, this hasn't been the experience of many physicians whose EHR systems are viewed as encumbrances in the way of their clinical workflows.

Accountability will continue to be a key element in the future of healthcare reform. Whether in accountable care organizations, patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs), or other innovative programs for coordinating care-finding a way to drive quality-focused care is essential.

Despite concerns that some providers are lagging in the adoption of electronic health records, federal officials plan to stay on schedule in requiring hospitals to meet Stage 2 meaningful-use requirements, the officials said Wednesday

Financial incentives can drive providers' adoption of health information technology, including e-prescribing.

A payer-sponsored pay-for-performance incentive for smoking status documentation prompted implementation of a systemwide electronic reminder and improved documentation among all healthcare system patients.

Medication adherence service provider HealthPrize, run by former Yale Medical School professor and neurosurgeon Katrina Firlik and lawyer Tom Kottler, hopes to raise the bar for patients' medication adherence. HealthPrize web and mobile platforms will utilize various incentives and technology to award patients for proper adherence

While there is enormous potential for big data to lead to groundbreaking insights in healthcare, realizing the potential requires specific attention to issues of data quality.

Health Information Technology (HIT) remains an increasingly integral part of healthcare reform. Now, a recent study shows that more 75% of hospitals are participating in Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, and more than half of those have achieved Stage 1 meaningful use of that technology.

With new models of care delivery, reformation of outdated fee-for-service payment systems, and collaboration of groundbreaking provider-payer partnerships, the changing landscape of the healthcare industry is irrefutable. Yet, the integration of health information technology (HIT) continues to be an area of deliberation for many managed care professionals.

While more than 75% of hospitals are participating in the federal electronic health record incentive program, small hospitals and Critical Access hospitals lag behind.

"I think it's a really exciting time from a technology perspective," said George Van Antwerp, VP, Product Development, InVentiv Medical Management.

As people increasingly depend on electronics and technology to exchange information, it seems only logical that physicians would embrace electronic health records (EHRs) in favor of their paper predecessors.